Author
Topic: Hikurangi – Classic 1960s Wooden Tug (Read 23452 times)

Thanks John. Thanks Hayden.Can see light at the end of the tunnel now and things are starting to fall into place quite quickly. Glazed the windows without too much bother – that part can be a nightmare if it goes wrong, and was able to knock out the railings in an afternoon. I had thought that they would take longer but they came together pretty easily, considering the complex form of the top rail. They are brass rod, soldered and filed clean.All painted and glued into position, so the cabin is stating to look the part.

Still deciding whether to put the canvas siding onto the flying bridge railing. Tending towards yes at the moment.The grab rails on the real boat are stainless steel but I've upgraded my Hikurangi to polished brass. She deserves it and it goes well with the polished teak.

I've finally got the little Hik back on the bench after 15 months of languishing in a cupboard.Didn't take too long to get back up to speed, once I had figured out what was left to finish. The ventilators were printed at Shapeways - turned out alright.

I started working through the 'box of bits', glueing on the last remaining items, and re-aquainting myself with the model.This is where I'm at now. I had forgotten what nice lines the boat has. It really is a good looking hull design.Still need to rig the derrick, and the fenders are looming as a major task.I had initially thought that they were rubber but on closer inspection of the the old photos, they are rope. There are several places that sell model rope fenders but not small enough for 1/50. I experimented with a couple of ways of representing them but nothing looked even remotely decent. Looks like I'll have to make them in the traditional way – thousands of tiny hitches.That should push the eyesight to the limit.

There hasn't been any activity on the forum for over a week – that's probably a record – and not in a good way! Not sure why, maybe the weather in the northern hemisphere. We are having an extended period of summer down here so that might explain a few MIA in this neck of the woods.

Don't feel shy guys. Any comments on any threads are welcome. How about a few of you guest signing up and joining the conversation. We are always wanting to see photos of other peoples' models. Give it a crack, we don't bite.

In the meantime, not much movement on the Hikurangi but here are a few more photos of the progress over the past few days.This boat has a few quirky little things about it – the life buoy brackets are carved from wood, the towing bitt is made from laminated timber.

...and the bow. The windlass and chain attached. Now I need to sort out the railing around the bow. It's wire rather than tubing (as on the flying bridge). Also need to decide whether or not to have the canvas sides on the flying bridge. I've made them but can't decide if I like them or not.

That's all for today, I look forward to seeing some of you guests and your models. As I said before – everyone welcome.Steve

Finally got this project back on track.It has been sitting in a cupboard waiting for the last couple of items to be built. The main one being a rope fender.After a week's worth of evenings spent tying tiny hitches it is all completed – and dyed.The Hikurangi was supplied with one large rope fender but the photos show it being used on the bow, and the stern at various times. I've opted to have it on the bow – as it was on the day when the Hikurangi first sailed into Gisborne port.All I need to do now is attached it – hopefully that won't take another 12 months.

I had a look back through the last few posts and realised that the thread is not totally up to date.I had completed the derrick and finished the railings around the bow back in March. The pulleys for the derrick were made from some etched brass that I had made at the very start of the project. The components can be made into a single, double or triple pulley block, the hook is attached to a wooden block.

Rigging the derrick was more fiddly than expected although it turned out OK.The railings around the bow on the real boat are wire through steel stanchions. Mine are nylon thread and PE brass. They are fairly delicate so it's 'handle with care' from now on – I'm amazed that I haven't snapped off the bilge keels yet.

I had a reasonably good weekend finishing a few little jobs on the Kumea and Hikurangi. Hats off to you guys who have several projects going at once. I find it difficult to jump between them – can't walk and chew gum at the same time I guess. My wife's been telling me that for years.

With the Hikurangi's fender all finished I fixed it onto the hull. I put a couple of U bolts into the rubbing stip and attached them to the fender with some lengths of chain.

Just about all finished but it has been over 2 years since I started this one and the rub-down dry transfers I'd had made for the ship's name on the transom have gone off – lost their stickiness. They come from Vancouver and are not cheap so I'll have to wait until I'm ordering some other transfers before I get them reprinted. Hopefully it won't be another 12 months.

And I realised that I have lost the searchlight – I know I had made one but I can't find it anywhere. Have to remake it.